Writer, broadcaster (Phantom 105.2),  journalist, IT Manager,  living in Dublin, Ireland.

In the late 1980s I worked offshore for Radio Caroline as Head of News and presenter (and eventually Programme Director) for the Caroline 558 service. This was a wonderful time, great radio, and great fun. I stayed with Caroline past the end of offshore broadcasting, and until the 1991 shipwreck when I was one of the people rescued by helicopter (thank you RAF!) after we ran aground on the Goodwin Sands.

More recently I have worked for Phantom 105.2 in Dublin, spending 9 years with the station from its pirate era (as Phantom FM), through the temporary licences, and the first three years of its fully legal incarnation. In autumn 2009 I stepped back from regular presenting duties due to other commitments on my time (see below), but I still fill in on an ad-hoc basis from time to time, and am proud to be associated with the station which has much of the great music and freedom that Caroline offered, but somewhat less of the drama and uncertainty.

I’ve written a book about my experiences with Radio Caroline and the last few years at sea, as we lurched from crisis to crisis (SHIPROCKED – Life On The Waves With Radio Caroline, published March 2009 by Liberties Press) .

With the encouragement of my agent at the wonderful Seven Towers Agency I am now discovering that I have more than just one book in me, and am currently working on a second nonfiction book (travel related) which I hope to complete in 2010, and in the meantime have had two short stories published. I’m a great believer in bringing the printed word to life, and take part in regular readings and open-mic events at least twice a month in Dublin and other parts of Ireland, with a UK tour planned for 2010.

I also regularly write articles and features for a UK-based transport trade magazine Coach & Bus Week, contributing coverage of transport news and developments in the Republic of Ireland.

The above activities share space in my life with an ongoing career in IT Service Management, which is the bit that pays the bills!

Personality wise, I’d describe myself as an authority-loving anti-authoritarian, left and right wing hippy individualist goth indie pop prog rock album track single hit lover, in love with technology but pining for my simple past as a sailor. Musically my tastes are very varied, in my time I have played everything from soft pop to hard rock via goth, indie, country and blues, and enjoyed it all.

Although my  offshore pirate days with Radio Caroline are far in the past now,  they have never left me, and truth be told there is hardly a week goes by that I don’t think wistfully of how nice it would be to be 18 miles out in the middle of a moonlit sea playing music and just hanging out.

I’d love to live in a huge dusty library on board a radio-ship in International waters, but just for now, I’m happy to live in the real world.

Steve